Many of the world’s bigger banks are reevaluating their relationships with banks in smaller riskier countries, making it harder for businesses and people to move money across borders. The process is commonly known as De-Risking. IMF Staff have recently published a research paper entitled The Withdrawal of Correspondent Banking Relationships. In this podcast, we speak with coauthor Yan Liu.

Europe is struggling to cope with millions of asylum seekers from conflict zones in the Middle East. In this podcast, Ian Bremmer, president of the global political risk research firm Eurasia Group, says the biggest challenges behind the refugee crisis are more political than economic. Bremmer participated in a seminar entitled Conflicts and the Refugee Crisis: An International Call for Action at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in April.

Contributors:

Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm.

Billions of uncollected tax dollars in developing countries could be used to lift more people out of poverty. In this podcast, Eric Postel, USAID’s Associate Administrator explains how redoubled efforts to improve tax systems worldwide are making a difference. Postel participated in seminar entitled Collect More & Spend Better at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in April.

Contributors:

Eric Postel, Associate Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

If high commodity prices alone drove recent advances in Africa, the prospects for further gains seem dim. But in this podcast, Steven Radelet, says the reality is more complex, and the outlook is more varied than many now suggest. Radelet’s article, Africa’s Rise- Interrupted? is published in the June 2016 issue of Finance and Development magazine.

Contributors:

Steven Radelet, holds the Donald F. McHenry Chair in Global Human Development, and is Director of the Global Human Development Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.